First Grading Tips

[Ted T.]

Kyu gradings should be fun!!

 

You get to show off everything you've learned.

 

Your sensei knows if you have passed before he grades you.

 

Think of standing on the edge of a field with a bow and arrow and the target is in the center of the field. White belt must not kill a spectator on the sidelines when they shoot their arrow. At each grading you must get closer to the target to proceed. Black belt must bulls-eye.

 

1. Never show any emotion except determination. One young lad did a good kata until he flubbed a move at the end when Sensei happened to be making a note on his pad. Sensei looked up just in time to see his grimace, and asked him if he would like to do his kata over again. Ouch.

 

When you make your mistake, (not "if" but "when"... ), never admit it in your posture or expression. It is as if you are saying, "I was taught to do it this way!" A mistake done strongly with conviction is often preferable to a proper move done hesitantly.

 

And,

 

2. Tie your pant's ties strongly just before you start!! (Heed the voice of exprience! )

[cross]

Tie your pant's ties strongly just before you start!!

 

Sounds like a good story. Do go on....

[Ted T.]

I was sitting at the grading table with my Sensei when he suddenly stood up and apologetically announced that he had to take a break for a second and go to the can. This was unprecidented!

 

So off he went and as soon as the door closed, one of my green belts who was up, on the floor being tested, ran to the women's washroom. It seems her pants had become untied while she was doing the basics, while walking forward and backward. She kept dropping lower and lower in her stance to try to keep them in place while desperately whispering to my wife, her sempai, who was sitting nearby in the grading line, what should she do???

 

Sensei saw all this and solved the problem for her very gracefully. All I saw was her stances getting weird.

 

She went on to become a Mountie but did not go very far with her karate.

[June1]

Eeeeeeeee! The big day is tomorrow! I can't wait!

 

I no longer feel worried about what's going to happen. Aside from reading your great posts, I had a talk with 2 senseis, a sempai, AND a secretary!

 

They all assured me that I would do fine, and the only thing that I should really focus on doing is my best.

 

I want to thank all of you for your words of advice and for your experiences. I'll try to remember all of it tomorrow.

 

I just have to make room in my apartment to practice some Heian Shodan and I'm practically set!

[aefibird]

Well, good luck! GO FOR IT!!

 

If you get some pictures of you passing then it'd be great to see them.

[June1]

"Yes!"

 

That, my fellow karatekas, is the triumphant sound of an ex-white belt student leaving it all behind and delving into the new realms of the yellow belt.

 

LOL. That's my dramatic way of saying I passed! Yay! It was an absolutely awesome day! The basics weren't so bad to get though, and we performed our kata 3 times! The first time was the best one, as I thought it would be the only time I would do it. It took a little while to get pumped up again to perform the other ones, but all in all, I think I did well.

 

As I knelt down next to my fellow students, I thought ahead to the other gradings I would surely experience, and the only thing going through my mind was that I wanted to jump into learning the next kata.... now!

 

Can't wait for the next grading!

 

Once again, thank you all so much for your reassuring words. I DID remember you as I was getting ready in the changeroom.

[Hawkeye]

Congratulations!! I don't think that I had my yellow belt for more than 5 minutes before I was asking sempai to show me my first yellow belt kata so I could start practising.

 

Good luck with your training.

[italian_guy]

Congratulations from another yellow belt (since June).